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Armstrong Announces Hockey Ops Changes

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced changes within the club’s Hockey Operations Department on Tuesday.

The team has named Dave Taylor as Vice President of Hockey Operations and Al MacInnis as Senior Advisor to the General Manager.

Kevin McDonald will remain Assistant General Manager of the Blues and General Manager of the Peoria Rivermen, while Rob DiMaio has been named Director of Pro Scouting.

Taylor joined the Blues organization in July 2010 and served as the club’s Director of Player Personnel for the past two seasons. Previously, Taylor served as Director of Player Personnel of the Dallas Stars for three seasons (2007-2010) and as General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings for nine seasons (1997-2006) where he drafted Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick. On the ice, Taylor spent his entire career with Los Angeles and was a member of the renowned “Triple Crown Line” with Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer. The Kings’ all-time games played leader appeared in 1,111 contests, tallying 431 goals and 638 assists for 1,069 points. On April 3, 1995, Taylor’s number 18 jersey was retired by the Kings.

MacInnis has served as Vice President of Hockey Operations since November 2006. Prior to joining the front office, MacInnis crafted a Hall of Fame playing career that included 23 seasons between the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames. A native of Port Hood, Nova Scotia, he spent 10 seasons donning The Note, amassing 452 points (127 goals, 325 assists) in 613 games played. He finished his career with St. Louis ranking fourth on the Blues’ all-time assists list (325), sixth on the points list (452), seventh on the games-played list (613) and third on the shots-on-goal list (2,266). MacInnis’ number 2 sweater was retired by the Blues on April 9, 2006.

McDonald joined the Blues organization prior to the 2001-02 season as a Professional Scout. He has served as GM of the Peoria Rivermen since 2005 and as Assistant GM of the Blues since 2009. The 2011-12 season was McDonald’s 24th season working in the NHL. He began his career in professional hockey in 1988 with the New York Rangers and held several titles with that organization, including Director of Communications, Assistant to the GM and Professional Scout.

DiMaio joined the Blues as a professional scout in 2008 after a 17 year NHL playing career. He appeared in 894 NHL games, including stints with the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars. He will work closely with Doug Armstrong and oversee all aspects of professional scouting with the club.